YouTube ID badges accessorized many of the munchers at Big Mouth Burgers:

... where I got a Hangover burger ($9.75):

... that overhung the bun with a juicy wad of medium rare beef capped with a fried egg and bacon. The American cheese was a little gluey but this beefy ball was still mouth wideningly worthwhile (but not something I would post on YouTube.)

Coco-luxe, Poco Dolce and Amano are a few of the participants in the first annual Fall Chocolate Salon at Fort Mason on November 14th (not to be confused with its mothership the larger, International Salon.) This primer for holiday palates can act as an audition for seasonal gifts or a hedonistic tour through tempting, tempered treats. This morsel menagerie will spotlight bars, bonbons and bites to nibble your way towards knowledge...or just nibble...

After some inspiration from Michael Ruhlman's website, we hopped over to Bryan's and requested 5 pounds of pork belly. Bryan told us that we would have better luck asking a butcher that supplied restaurants since most butchers get hunks of pork that crop off this midsection.

Before we sped off, we asked the butchers over at the Safeway if they had any and they said that they considered it offal and didn't deal with this cut.

I phoned around and found 4 pounds at Mollie Stone's of all places (where the fish smell prevents us from purchasing in the seafood dept.) but the meat doesn't put us off.

Next time we'll plan ahead and make a San Francisco shopping trip or go to 99 Ranch to find a full five pounds, but today we adjusted the recipe for this quadra poundage of porky potential.

These savory stumps were supported by eggplant and cucumber to create rich, fresh, beefy bites.

We made our way through some marvelous maki ($14.00 - $15.00 each):

... filled with asparagus, tempura shrimp and spicy tuna. The unique combinations included gilding the crab, shrimp and avocado roll with a yuzu aioli which pleasingly partnered with the crisp "Seitoku" Junmail Ginjo sake followed up with Maguro, Aji, Hamachi, Sake and Anago nigiri ($7.00-$9.00 each.)

Perfectly cooked saikyo miso marinated black cod ($28.00):

... qualifies as required eating. This sweet and succulent swimmer sated with a Nishida "Denshu" Tokubetsu Junmai before we tucked into slices of filet mignon ($32.00):

These tender tufts were beefed up by mushrooms and balanced out by bacon wrapped green beans.

We dunked our dessert into molten magma in this Japanese take on chocolate fondue ($12.00). Bananas, apples, strawberries, pineapple, orange, mochi ice cream balls and squares of pound cake:

... took the plunge as we sipped on Kamoizumi "Nigori Ginjo" unfiltered sake from Hiroshima:

This cloud of creamy acidity with a faint sweetness was a fine finish to this feast.

Japanese language instruction is piped into the restrooms allowing us to return to the table with a couple of convincing phrases (which were quickly forgotten) but we do remember that Chef Morgan's hit on Izakaya is our kinda chow.

... where I munched on maize mats middled with pork, cheese and one crammed with a collection of mixed meats.

Cheese usas'ed out of this Salvadoran saucers crispily freshened by a side of spicy slaw:

Two would have been plenty, but I happily masa-cated this triad of warming wads in the dinky dining area of this eclectic eatery featuring a wacky selection of chow (including Italian). I'll have to come back for one of their enticing burgers.

Go for brogue on November 16th at the Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza where you will find over 100 reasons to sample spirits from Scotland, Ireland and Japan. Check out our visit to last year's event to get an idea of the festive vibe of this malty meet up.

The Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza
Tuesday, November 16th, 7-9 p.m.
Tickets $135 per person
21 years +
Jackets preferred, no denim or athletic attire - but kilts are a nice touch...
InterContinental
888 Howard St.
San Francisco, CA

There are Minamoto Kitchoan shops in London, Asia and a few in the U.S. with one on Market Street:

... where diminutive desserts are arranged like jewelry:

... in this Japanese bite boutique.

They had us at Duckwards ($2.50):

... with its ovals of sponge cake sandwiched around a cream filling. This meringue-like morsel was a delicate cloud of ducky lightness.

Little bits of apple were suspended in the Benihana Ringo ($4.00):

This bean jelly ball had a citrus and cinnamon scent.

Tsuyaguri ($4.00):

... was a whole chestnut cloaked in chestnut-bean paste. There wasn't a trace of graininess to the smooth, thick, coat around the nut nucleus.

A fish figured Tenkataihei ($3.00):

... had red bean guts filling this upscale cake.

All of our small snacks went easy on the sucrose (making them top notch nibbles.) There are gift assortment boxes for those who don't want to hunt and peck through alien eats, but finding wacky stuff in this delicious display was half the fun.

... presented with a soup spoon (which must be the customary method of Japanese-style Chinese food ingestion.) Green onions sprouted from this grain gob smacked with swine. I stomached this staple in a comforting carbohydrate contentment while scanning the room (unsuccessfully) for any diners of a non-Japanese persu-Asian.

... were boned, dredged in a seasoned sweater and fried to a crisp crusted, moist middled, marvelousness. I think they must have brined these masterful thighs to get a leg up on juiciness. A pool of chili sauce gave an acid angle while strained Straus yogurt with a caraway coercion created a creamy tang that took this chicken home to roost.

Dessert was a bowl of ricotta doughnuts ($4.00):

... which were a haunting homer run of fr-eye balls rolled in cinnamon sugar. These calci-yum cheese orbs were holes of sumptuous parts.

Straus soft serve ($4.95 plus .50¢ for hot fudge) came in black, white or swirl, we went with the chocolate blanketed in hot fudge. This close encounter of the stirred kind was a model mountain in this frozen finale to our tricked out dinner.

Bruce Hill's noughty nook of flour formations is a hospitable haunt where you can scare up some swell chow.